Lasting Impressions
by donnag76
Summary: Pepper discovers the unique way Tony decided to memorialize their relationship. Post-IM2/Pre-Avengers. Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own them. I just borrow them to play with occasionally. Reviews wanted and welcomed, just be nice. :) Happy reading!


**Lasting Impressions**

If it wasn't for the sound of the occasional helicopter flying overhead, Pepper Potts could have sworn she'd died and gone to Heaven. There were no ringing telephones, no e-mail alerts, and no people asking 500 questions, just the sand and the water. Usually, they would have skipped the Stark Industries executive retreat, leaving all the department heads to their own, but not this year. Tony practically insisted they join them. Granted, they were at Tony's private beach house and everyone else was at a luxury resort, but, they were in Hawaii just the same. So far, it was proving to be exactly the getaway they needed.

She dug her toes into the sand. This was a much-welcomed departure from the snow she just left in New York City. From the minute Tony picked her up at the airport, all Pepper thought of was getting out of her business suit and into her bikini. Her plans involved being slathered down with SPF 40 and letting the sun warm the chill out of her bones. Pepper sighed and turned her head to look at Tony. He sat there in the shade of the umbrella, engrossed in the latest issue of _Popular Mechanics_…too engrossed in the latest issue of _Popular Mechanics_. When she stopped to think about it, Tony had been acting odd since she mentioned going to the beach. Tony Stark was _many_ things, but shy wasn't one of them. Yet, it had been like pulling teeth to get him changed out of his t-shirt and jeans. Even then, he kept the t-shirt on with his swimming trunks. Usually, Tony was like a hyper eight-year-old around water, running, splashing, and diving in with abandon. So far, he hadn't moved from his chair. Pepper decided to change this.

Laying her sunglasses on the cooler between them, Pepper snatched the magazine from her boyfriend's hands and slapped his leg with it. "Last one in buys dinner!" she called, tossing the magazine in her empty chair as she jogged toward the water. It only took a few feet to realize she wasn't being followed. Looking back, she saw Tony just as he'd been. Pepper walked back and stood in front of him. "Up and at 'em, Stark. Everybody into the water."

"Um, no thanks."

"No thanks? What kind of answer is that?"

"An honest one?"

"Not buying it. C'mon. The ocean awaits."

"But, I really don't…"

"No buts," Pepper said firmly. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Let's go." Somewhat reluctantly, Tony followed. He waded in waist deep and stopped again. "What?" she questioned.

"I…can't," he stammered.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I just…_can't_. This is as deep as I can get."

"Oh, Tony, quit messing around. I _know_ you can swim and I know you love the water." Deciding to go the sultry route, Pepper waded back to where he was and put her arms around his neck. "I even know swimming isn't you favorite water activity."

Tony swallowed hard. "I _want_ to, trust me. I just…I can't."

"I bet you can." Pepper ran her hands down his neck and shoulders and he winced. This was the final straw. "Okay, Tony. What's going on? Don't say 'nothing' because I know better."

"Remember how you've been gone to New York and I've been at home?"

"Yes."

"A couple nights ago, I went out with Rhodey. I was trying to eat and these women wouldn't leave me alone." A knot formed in Pepper's stomach. The cold she thought the sun warmed out of her returned with a vengeance so strong she shivered. Tony felt this and saw her expression change. He could practically read her mind. "Whoa, wait. You think I…? With one of those women? God no! It's nothing like that."

"Sorry," she said, allowing herself to relax. "Go on. The women wouldn't leave you alone…"

"Right. So I said something about how I wish they _would_ leave me alone. I have a girlfriend. Then Rhodey says, 'It's not like you have _Property of Pepper Potts_ stamped on you' and I said maybe I should."

"Tony…what have you done?" It all began to make sense. "Did you do what I _think_ you did?"

"Uh, maybe."

"Show me."

Tony backed away enough to remove his shirt and turned around, showing her his back. There, slightly below his left shoulder blade, was a 3-inch-long tattoo of a red pepper. "It's a pepper," he said. He knew an explanation was unnecessary, but felt the need to say _something_.

"I can see that."

"It's a pepper because _you're_ Pepper."

"Uh huh." She stared a minute longer. "Were you drunk?"

"No. Why?"

"Decisions like this usually come about after copious amounts of alcohol are consumed."

"It probably would have helped with the pain," Tony grimaced.

"Not as much as you would think."

"You don't like it."

"I didn't say that. I'm just…surprised."

Tony slipped his shirt back on over his head and faced her again. "You think I'm crazy. In hindsight, it probably _is_ a little bit crazy. It's just…I'm tired of people automatically assuming I'm not serious about you…about us."

"Have I said I doubted your sincerity?"

"No."

"Then there you go." Pepper framed his face with her hands. "I know you're serious. You know you're serious. At the end of the day, _we_ are all that matters."

"So, you're not freaked out?"

"No. It makes total sense in that weird, Tony Stark way." She saw him roll his shoulder and lift the material of his shirt. "You had no idea it would require this much upkeep did you?"

"Not a clue," he confessed. "They make it look so easy in the movies."

"Don't they always?"

"I can't go swimming for the next few days."

"I know. You're supposed to stay out of sunlight, too."

"Not the best time to be vacationing at the beach."

"Nope." Tony opened his mouth to say something, but Pepper beat him to it. "So...a red pepper, huh?"

"Yeah. I thought it was appropriate. Other than the obvious reason, it's stronger than it appears. It can be sweet or capable of making a grown man cry." An impish grin spread across his face. "Plus, it's _really_ hot, just like you."

"You thought of _all that_ before you got to the tattoo parlor?" Pepper asked incredulously.

"I also may have driven past a Chili's on the way and saw one on the sign."

"That sounds more like it."

"The part about you being really hot, though...I think that _all_ the time."

Pepper ran her hands through his hair. "I happen to think you're pretty hot yourself."

"You're not just saying that because I'm wearing your brand are you?"

"Never."

"I can have it removed, ya know," he said.

"Now _that_ is when you need to be drunk."

Tony cocked his head to the side. "Wait a minute." Slowly, things began to add up. "You said 'I know' when I said I couldn't go swimming then you said I needed to stay out of sunlight, which _I_ didn't mention. And...how _else_ would you know how much it hurts to get a tattoo removed?" He smiled again. "You've been holding out on me, Potts. I want to know all about our sweet Virginia's walk on the wild side."

"There's not much to tell."

"You're stalling. Go!"

"It was Spring Break Sophomore year of college," she began. "My roommate and I went to Daytona Beach. After a few drinks with little umbrellas in them her brother brought us which he _swore_ were non-alcoholic, I thought it would be oh so romantic to express my undying devotion to my boyfriend in ink."

"And..." he urged. "What did you get? Skull and crossbones? Heart with a dagger through it? Unicorn jumping over a rainbow? I want details."

"It wasn't anything that scary or...psychedelic."

"Then what?"

"His initial. When we got there and the guy dragged out the needle, I decided to go with the smallest thing I could get."

"Hmm," Tony mused. "Even inebriated, our girl still makes the sensible decision."

"I'm not so sure about that," Pepper confessed. "Before I could get back to campus and show him, he called to say he'd fallen madly in love with the female lifeguard at his resort and was breaking up with me."

"Jerk." Tony leaned in closer. "So...where was said tattoo?" Pepper took his hand and laid it near her left hip at the top of her bikini bottoms. "Wow. That loser didn't know what he missed out on. This is why it's such a shame we didn't know each other when we were both twenty. My favorite game would have been 'Find the tattooed T.' Yours, too," he added with a sexy growl.

"Well...the tattoo may be gone, but there's still a scar."

"Do tell."

"Yep. It's small, though. You might have to look _very closely_ to find it."

"I can do that." He studied her face for a minute. "You're really not mad that I...did this?"

"It's certainly not the way I would have preferred to make a lasting impression on you, but, I can't say that I'm mad. As long as you know that you have _nothing_ to prove to me.

"Care to return the favor?"

"No thank you. Although I love you with all my heart, once was enough for me."

"Sorry I spoiled our vacation."

"You didn't spoil mine," Pepper told him playfully. "I didn't just get inked. I can swim all I want. Take a bath, float in the ocean, run around the beach wearing practically nothing at all."

"You're killing me, Potts."

"Would it help if I said you could watch?"

"Not really."

"Well then, I see only one solution to your problem. We will just have to stay an extra week."

"I can live with that. It may take me that long to find that scar, you know." Tony gave her his best seductive smile. "For now, I think I am going to let _you_ enjoy the ocean and _I_ am going to go let my skin breathe. It's too hot to be wearing this thing out here." He dropped a kiss on her lips. "If you need me, I will be chilling under the umbrella."

Pepper watched him walk through the surf before turning to the ocean. She swam out a couple hundred yards, stretching muscles and joints still stiff from travel. What she saw when she came back to shore made her smile. Lying on his stomach on a beach towel was Tony, sound asleep, his head pillowed with his wadded up shirt. Pepper spread the other towel in her chair before she sat. When she reached for her sunglasses, the artwork on his back caught her eye and she couldn't help but stare. This man, whom the world accused of being incapable of making any kind of commitment, effectively had her name tattooed in his skin. As she saw it, that was pretty permanent. He'd asked her opinion of his actions. Truthfully, Pepper didn't know exactly _what_ she felt, but it wasn't shame or anger. Quite the opposite. Part of her felt flattered. She was proud to know Tony thought so much of their relationship. There was never a question of his love for her. Like everything he did in life, he threw in his whole heart and soul into it and let her know at every opportunity.

She settled back into her chair to enjoy more of the Hawaiian weather. Her thoughts drifted to the man she loved. She _did_ love him, every impetuous inch of him. Pepper concluded she may never get his name tattooed somewhere on her body, but, Tony Stark had etched a lasting impression in the most important place possible…her heart.

**Author's note: My best friend and I were having a conversation about RDJ and GP's respective tattoos and the idea for this story was born. I hope you like it. I thought it sounded like something Tony would do on the spur of the moment. Reviews are greatly appreciated. It was something that just popped in my mind, so I wrote until I got it out. I hope it doesn't sound rushed and thrown-together. Let me know. PEPPERONY FOREVER! **


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